While Michael Hage and LJ Mooney get their fair share of the spotlight, Montreal Canadiens’ second-round pick at the 2025 draft, Alexander Zharovsky, is playing his first season in the KHL with HC Salavat, a team that’s currently dead last in the Eastern conference of the top Russian league.
In 12 games, Viktor Kozlov’s men have only managed two regulation wins and one overtime win, meaning they’ve also recorded nine defeats. In five games, Zharovsky, who missed the start of the season due to injuries, has four points and has played mainly on the team’s first line.
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However, he started the last game against Spartak Moscow on the third line and was benched in the final frame. After closely following Ivan Demidov’s trial and tribulation with SKA St. Petersburg last season, we know that’s nothing to be alarmed about. Young players will experience ups and downs, regardless of the league they play in.
Watching the highlights that are starting to emerge on X, though, Zharovsky does look like an exciting prospect worth keeping an eye on. He’s got great hands and stickhandling, but he’s also good at shielding the puck and keeping hold of it, which is not a small feat for a player who was listed as 163 pounds when he was drafted. Interestingly, Salavat’s website now lists him at 187 pounds, a 24-pound jump. One has to wonder if he trained with the Xhekaj brothers this summer to put on that kind of weight. Whichever way that was achieved, though, the Canadiens will take it.
Salavat Yulaev will be playing its next game on October 14th, against Ak Bars, a team that has won seven games in 13 duels this season and should present an interesting challenge for Zharovsky and his team, whichever line the youngster plays on.
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